"Taurus, the bull of the heavens, stamps and tramples about. Uncontrollable, his primal rage compels him to gore, to uproot, to mangle, to thrash. He is an old creature, acknowledged even by the ancient civilizations. His is a nature of chaos, of adversity, and catastrophe. Taurus is not to be tamed—he cannot be. He is not a lamb. He is a fierce, masculine beast, virile and indifferent to the delicate things in his path.

His place is to be thwarted. To be defeated. Conquered. Like a wild frontier, Taurus is the unknown unpredictability of nature. And so, it is no wonder that we see brave Orion, soon to be wounded in his right shoulder—as Christ was wounded in His. Just as Orion confronts Taurus, facing him head on, Christ confronts the chaos that fights the Logos, there on the Cross:

'I was cast upon You from birth; You have been my God from my mother’s womb. Do not be far from me, for trouble is near; For there is no one to help. Many bulls have surrounded me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. They open their mouths wide at me as a ravening and roaring lion.' - Psalm 22:10-13

It is no wonder that the perverse generations of the ancient world sought to appropriate this beast for their own worship, from Apis to Moloch. From Crete to Babylon.

And speaking of ancient Babylon, Taurus has a few things to point out for the New Babylon of our day. I am speaking of The United States of America...

...the date Providence has chosen for this is also quite notable, November 19th. Ancient November 19th...

Something fascinating took place in ancient Rome on November 19th, and when one considers the story in the context of our current political situation, one cannot help but think that mighty Taurus is drawing the parallels for us tonight.

On this day, November 19th, 461, a Roman senator named Libius Severus was installed as one of the last Western emperors of Rome.

It is important to understand just how decayed the Roman Empire was at this point. The East and West were still seen as one empire, but there was no true power left. The entire government was emasculated, and bereft of any strength. All of the provinces that Rome used to control—Britain, Northern Africa, Hispania—they were lost. Basically, 'Rome' was now Italy.

Now, when Severus was chosen as emperor, he was actually a puppet. He was picked. He was selected by commander of the Western Roman Army, Ricimer, who had arranged for the killing of the previous emperor. Ricimer needed a weak emperor. A fall guy. Someone who would be feckless, disrespected, and illegitimate. And so, to serve this purpose and to appease the Italian aristocracy, Ricimer chose Severus. There were actually several false flag attacks leading up to this historical moment—orchestrated vandal raids on Italy’s coast—but these false flags were intended for different purposes.

When Severus came into 'power,' he was not respected. Several provinces did not even recognize his authority. The Eastern Emperor, Leo the Great did not recognize him, and Severus was furthermore considered a usurper. It was always Ricimer, hiding behind the curtain, who retained the true power of the Western Empire. A failed rule, things got out of hand. Vandal raids continued and the Western Roman economy suffered. His rule ended when he died of natural causes.

When one considers the current state of our Rome, our Edom, our Babylon—we can see so many parallels to this man, Libius Severus, who was elected on this sad, pathetic day in declining Rome’s history. We, too, have a puppet emperor, whose strings are pulled by unknown actors hiding in the shadow. Our borderlands, also, are under constant invasion. Previous 'provinces' under our control have fallen disastrously through our emasculated, soft fingertips. The economy is failing as was Western Rome’s. And most recognize the current regime as illegitimate, feckless, usurping, and unworthy of respect...." [link to forge-and-anvil.com (secure)]